1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to novel and improved laminate materials for making furniture and other similar articles, and furniture pieces incorporating said laminate materials. The materials comprise various layers of natural wood and carbon fibers resulting in a composite assembly with improved structural characteristics and enhanced aesthetic appearance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Lumber and Plywood
Lamination, the bonding of two or more layers of materials, has been used extensively in the furniture industry for about 100 years. Laminated materials are available in various sizes and weights and are used as stock items for making various pieces of furniture that are inexpensive and strong, and can be made be using mass-production techniques.
The origins of laminated materials are in forestry. The production of wood stock materials obtained by merely cutting up trees is wasteful, inefficient, and as the supply of trees is dwindling, very expensive. Therefore, lumber yards began searching for ways of producing lumber faster, at lower cost and maximizing use of the raw material and the byproducts of the production of wood stock. As a result, several engineered materials were invented which are widely used today. The first of these engineered materials is plywood, which is usually a lamination of many layers of wood to make a rigid, planar panel. Another example of a lamination is OSB (compressed wood chips) laminated with another material on its surface, such as wood veneer, Formica®, sheet metal, etc. In general, a “laminated material” is one composed of several layers, bonded with a thin layer of glue.
A drawback to plywood is that by its nature it is heavy and looks cheap and unappealing. In the manufacturing process, the wood is impregnated with glue and compressed at high pressure to create a bond that does not deteriorate over time. The resulting product is heavier (i.e., has a higher density) as compared to solid wood. In addition, the glues used in the process are toxic and formaldehyde, used to help the glue penetrate the wood, is a carcinogen. Hence, the production of plywood is environmentally undesirable. Because of their low-quality appearance, plywood and particle board are either covered up with thin surface layers having a more decorative look, or painted, thereby increasing their cost of manufacture.
One example of how a plywood laminate used in the furniture industry is the “Boachair”, made by Emmemobili in Italy (see “iMade 2001, Ways of producing: Rigor and invention in the Italian furniture industry”, pp. 76–77). This chair is made of four layers of wood, bent and glued, using staggered joints between the layers, to make a continuous tubular shape. The layers of wood are made of beech, which is flexible enough to be curved when subjected to heat and compression before the glue bonds the layers together.
Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber is a material that was developed and used first in the aerospace industry. The material it is unique because it has a high elastic inflection in combination with its extremely high tensile strength. Carbon fiber consists of a textile fabric woven of continuous fibers of carbon and suspended in a resinous base, usually vinyl ester, polyester or an epoxy resin. Carbon fiber is desirable because of its high strength-to-weight ratio, as well as the ease with which it is molded into many shapes.
Carbon fiber is also used extensively in the automotive industry, ship building, sporting goods, and even in eyeglasses, but very little in the furniture industry. Existing examples of carbon fiber in the furniture industry include a 15-foot table top (made of only carbon fiber) by Canadian designer Ron Arad; a very thin, light chair originally produced by Yamaha company in the 1960s; lamps with carbon fiber structures (http://www.galleriadesign.clac00.it/galleria/oluce/lola.html); wheelchairs (see http://accessibledesigns.com/seating.html); and a chair and table made entirely of carbon fiber by Poltrona Frau (http://www.poltronafrau.it/news/00/newprod2000.htm—“Wing”product description).
Wood and carbon fiber laminates have been used to make simple, utilitarian outdoor equipment such as canoes, oars, paddles (see http://www.17 poundcanoes.com/carbon.htm) and snowboards which are laminated from wood and carbon fiber or fiberglass (http://www.arborsports.com/pages/main index 03.html).
In addition, some musical instruments also have some components that are also made of carbon fiber, which is then painted to look like wood (see for instance http://www.gstrings.com/cello.htm).
However, no laminate materials are known that are formed of layers of wood and carbon fibers and used to make furniture pieces.